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Monday, July 30, 2012

A TRUTH’S DESTINY

The
compartment was fairly empty for a Saturday afternoon. She thought that it was
probably not season yet for travel. But the thing she felt a little queer about
was the guy sitting opposite to her. It had been an hour and he had not taken
his eyes off the scenery his window was offering, not even to have a peek at a
pretty girl sitting right in front.

“Anything
particularly beautiful you are looking at?” He was taken aback by the hint of sarcasm
in her voice.

“Nothing
particular. But beautiful, yes!” He looked at her for the first time. Eyes so
expressive and purposeful! She gave him the “care-to-explain-yourself” look.

He
smiled. It was an innocent one. “Here, come this side and see for yourself.”

She
came and sat by his side. The sight was perfect. They didn’t speak a word for a
long time. It was the sun’s last act of
the day and the most beautiful one!

He
spoke first. “What a spectacle! It actually looks like our train is chasing the
sun down into those curvy mountains. He seems to be pretty tired after the
day’s work and we are catching up on him. On his way, he stumbles upon those
gorgeous trees which add their color to his light. What a delightful duet!”

She
soaked in the beauty that his eyes had just conjured. “My visualization was not
so enthralling. What are you? A writer?
A poet?”

“No,
someone less profound! I am a photographer.”

“Wow..
I could never be one!” There was a subtle pain in her voice.

They
watched the sun as it disappeared into oblivion. “It rests to scorch another
day.” She sighed as the last traces of the sun left their eyes.

He
took a few beats to crystallize his thoughts. “For the last half an hour, we
have seen the sun grow on us. Its golden shimmers accentuated the beauty and
serenity of every animal, foliage and emotion they touched. As our train got
tantalizingly close to the mountains, the sun was bigger, clearer and more
meaningful than ever. And then he disappears leaving us to be consumed by the
darkness. Does this mean anything to you?”

“I
see you are poised to say something profound. Go on.”

“Well,
profound or stupid, is for you to decide. It reminds me of the shallowness and
the false hopes and promises that make up our lives. Don’t you share my
melancholy?” He looked at her intriguingly.

She
smiled playfully. “Not really. I think he dims his light for us to search for
it within.”

“Now
that is profound indeed. What are you, a philosopher?” He winked.

“Well,
something more human. I am a painter.”

“I
am sure having such expressive eyes helps! They can temporarily arrest nature’s
splendor and you can immortalize it later on paper.” She gushed at his poetic
compliment.

They
were about to go back to their silence when he suddenly asked her a question
she was hoping he wouldn’t. “Why did you say you couldn’t be a photographer?”

After
being pensive for a while she opened up. “Because my dad was one!” This time he
couldn’t see any emotion in her eyes. “And he was brilliant at it. The best! He
took several pictures which were adored and celebrated. They brought him name
and fame. But most of these photos were meant to portray a world that was not
real. A world that was clinically enhanced; sprinkled with artificial beauty,
fake emotions and non existent colors! The world as you want it to look like! A
world of your dreams!” He did not interrupt her as emotions were slowly
starting to erupt.

“And then one day he took his best photograph.
It just told a simple truth. It was a piece of art. Sometimes, that is the
worst curse. It shows life in its purest and darkest shade. It is too much for
one to take. It tells you a story you so hoped didn’t exist. And the story of
this photo changed my dad. It made every other photo of his look
inconsequential and meek. It was the last photograph he ever took!” She was
still breathing heavily but had slowly managed to gain her composure back.

A
stunned silence ensued. “It must have been a very potent picture!” He whispered
softly.

“Sure
it is!” She took out the photo from her bag and gave it to him. It was a breathtaking
capture of a man was carrying his son on his shoulders. He looked at it
intensely for a while and then handed it back to her. “It is priceless.” His
eyes had a semblance of torture.

“What
happened? I thought you would want to see that picture a little longer.” She
could not understand the emotion he was going through.

He
smiled contritely. “If you allow me, I will keep looking at this picture for the
rest of my life.” She did not understand but didn’t want to press, fearing she
might hurt a raw wound. But that had already been done.

“Well,
you see, I don’t have a photo of my father and I never seem to like any of
mine.” He said nonchalantly.

She
was shuddering. “Is this…. You?”

He
was gently caressing the man in the photo. “Yes. I am the unfortunate son of
this man who did not have any reason to smile in his whole life but found every
opportunity to do so. He spent his whole life with a heavy baggage on his
slender shoulders. In the morning he would carry me to school. It was 10
kilometers from our village and he had to cross a dense forest barefooted. He
would then chop wood in the forest the whole day. He would carry my little baby
sister along with him to the forest. He made her a little cradle in the
woods and the birds would sing her lullaby. In the evening he will carry the
wood to the local timber house and sell it to them for a paltry price. He would
then come to fetch me again. Those three hours on my father’s shoulders were my
most precious moments of the day. He would tell me about every single sight,
event and incident on the way. I started seeing the world through his eyes. I
wish time had frozen at that very moment. But that was not to be. May be I was
too much a burden for him to shoulder! Or may be, I was not destined to play with my baby sister!

A
famous actress of that time adopted me from my father; for a good sum I guess.
Thanks to your dad’s priceless photo that melted her heart. My father was happy
that I was going to get a life that he could never give me. But I knew he cried
and bled internally. I knew his heart would never be able to give me up. He
wanted to carry me on his shoulders all his life. But life is cruel. It takes
your soul and you can’t even cry!

Time
slowly heals you. I started afresh. For 10 years, I lived a life of solitary
luxury. I had everything. I even had love. My new mother was not the best but
she took good care of me, though I never felt the mother in her! But I had
nothing to complain until one day she had a son of her own. Now I was just a
complication! So she got rid of me. To be fair, I was well taken care of. She
put me in college and fixed a decent accommodation as well. So here I was, after
being rooted out from my father’s heart and shoulders and planted in a place
where I never fit in, alone, out in the world to find a soil again.

I
had always looked for an inspiration, a calling to live or die for, and I found it
through your dad. Strange it may seem, but he shaped my destiny! This unknown
man, who immortalized my father in a frame of memory, who gave me new parents
(for a while), a great house to live, a great school to study, gave my father
and my sister the opportunity for a better life; he became my idol. He still
is! That is why I am a photographer today!”

His
eyes were moist. So were hers! “You never tried to find your father again?”

“I
wanted to. So many times. But then, what would I tell him? That I have been an
orphan for 15 years! That I have everything I haven’t even asked for but
not the one thing I have always longed for: his love. He would have imagined
great things about his son. I do not intend to bring down the fond castles he
has built in my memory. He will not be able to forgive himself. He has had
enough agony for one lifetime already. Sometimes it is best to live in the
truth we have come to believe in. I am happy to live with the belief that my
father and sister are happy somewhere! I can’t take any other truth!” He was
choking for words.

She
caressed his shoulders soothingly. She had no words to console him. She knew
that none were necessary. She put the photo on his lap. “You can keep the
photo. I think it means much more to you!” He had no words to thank her. He
knew none were necessary.

She
moved away and took out her diary and started writing something. He looked at
her eagerly.

“It’s
nothing. I just like to record memorable conversations.”

He
smiled affectionately. “I am so glad you thought this one is memorable!” He was
still looking at the photo. Tears were parting his eyes profusely. She finished
her diary and went away to shed a tear of her own.

He
glanced at her diary. Something inside him urged him to read it and he tried
hard to battle that thought. A truth’s destiny hinged on his action!

Excerpt from her diary:

How
can I tell you that this photograph means as much or more to me!

I
wish I could tell you that I am your little sister. I wish I could ask you to
sing me a lullaby.

How
can I tell you how much our father loved us? How can I tell you that he would
have never given you away if he was not dying? Yes. Dying slowly but surely!

I
cannot tell you how many hours I have spent looking at this photo, touching and
feeling the two of you.

How
can I tell you that my father watched our father die in my arms and then took
me in his arms? I cannot tell who I love the most, but both these men are our
heroes!

And
how can I bring my heart to tell you that both of them are no more! I have
suffered the agony of watching them die: one of pain and the other of grief.
How can I let you go through the same?

This
photograph is our destiny. It is our doom. It broke us. It made us. I can’t
allow it to break us again. I am just happy it brought us together, what if it
was for just a moment! Sometimes it is best to live in the truth we have come
to believe in!

116 comments:

woww...brilliantly woven Raj. I almost cried in the middle, but then I didn't. Boy, you were successful by the end. Tears in my eyes. Very touching and beautiful. I hope it's for that contest right? good luck. Loved it.

Raj...Every word is well chosen and couched into this exhilarating narration.This story is going to haunt me for a long long time. The beautiful use of language made this a mesmerizing read, Raj!! This is not a run of the mill stuff...a winning piece! All the best..

I liked this sentence very much.. "Sometimes, that is the worst curse. It shows life in its purest and darkest shade. It is too much for one to take. It tells you a story you so hoped didn’t exist. "--- Exactly :)loved it!

Lucid prose and terrific content. Ah, unforgettable characters as well. The ending was the icing on the cake..u know just when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did..and how! It made my eyes well up...good luck for the contest :)

Hey, this is phenomenally well-written. See, I knew I was competing against the likes of you which is why I chose to go with 55 fiction :). Good luck with the contest. You have a fantastic shot at winning.

Silly Me I got so engulfed in your post that I dint see your Post script and wrote all this GOOOOOOO WIN THIS COMPETITION :D its all yours!!!

OMG This is exceptionally awesome Raj, I was fully in tears and just cant tell you how much I liked this post, I read it again and again, loved the words, loved the suspense loved loved and loved it totally. I have a question,Sometimes I will be so moved by a picture that I will want to put it and write something around it!!! So was this post like that? If not how did u get such a beautiful connecting picture to the post?----Dont Answer I now know the answer :D

Trust me every word is so good in that loved it so much!!! I started remembering my train journeys and the beauty of it, and it sailed to photography which I always believe just cant do justice to the beauty what eyes see and then BAM!!! the story was so strong that I got totally engrossed in it. BIG HUG Raj its just tooooooooo awesome :D keep writing will love to read it always!!!

OOPS I had a post script message :D it dint get posted :D it read like thisPS: I just cant stop going gaga over things\people I like, And I have checked about my over excitement with doctor ;) so its perfectly normal and not fatal ;) So dont mind !!!

Ramya... omg... you have just made my day for the next 2 days. :) Such a breath-takingly lovely comment. Can't thank you enough. I am so glad you liked the story so much. As a writer I cannot ask for more. It gives me immense pleasure that this story invoked tears in your eyes. And you are right.. sometimes things that have happened in our life act as wonderful inspirations. My train journeys, the scenes I have seen peeping out of the window have all stayed evergreen in my mind and heart. I guess the story has some such reflections. :)

You have said I need not answer that question. But I still will. :P Actually I had written this story (not exactly in the same way though) without seeing the picture or the contest. But then when I saw the picture, it touched my heart very much that I decided to take part in the contest. Hence I re-wrote the story in a different way with the picture in mind and it has turned out better I should say. ;)

But thank you so much for showering me with so many compliments. This coming from you means so much. :)

“What a spectacle! It actually looks like our train is chasing the sun down into those curvy mountains. He seems to be pretty tired after the day’s work and we are catching up on him. On his way, he stumbles upon those gorgeous trees which add their color to his light. What a delightful duet!” This line egged me to read on further to find out what this post would unfold. and unfold it did a beautiful canvas, which was painted and has been clicked in my memory as one of the most beautiful stories that i have come across.

The closing line "This photograph is our destiny. It is our doom. It broke us. It made us. I can’t allow it to break us again. I am just happy it brought us together, what if it was for just a moment! Sometimes it is best to live in the truth we have come to believe in" , was simply a beautiful ending to a fabulous beginning..

I must say, you add a lot more depth to the emotions portrayed in this post. The 5 character shave been well defined short yet crisp.

Welcome back Menachery. It is so good to have you in my blog after a long time. And thank you so much for the wonderful wonderful compliment. You have really made my day. :) By the way you have summarized the story and highlighted the high points, I can see how it has impacted you. What more can I ask for as a writer! :) Thank you once again and hope to see you more and more. :)

I had written a comment in the morning which is probably squirming somewhere in the great galactic blackhole called Internet.

I am here then, to read this tale of breathtaking beauty, roiling emotions and stunning twists once more. Beginning with a teasingly romantic setting where two young hearts appraise each other as they absorb the myriad shades of a sundown glowing through the living and the inanimate, the story slips into the intractable darkness of human fortitudes as if fallen through a rabbit hole. Soon enough, it takes a steep turn into an uncharted angle again. And then as if it wasn't enough, we are left speechless with a final blinding flash of a twist.

Believe me, Raj, I can count on my little finger the number of writers who can touch my heart like this. Keep on glowing then, and let that shimmering river of words keep flowing.

Umashankar.. every single comment of you makes me speechless. And I wait for every comment of yours with bated breath too. :) I must tell you... your summary of the story is more beautiful than the story itself. And every compliment of yours is a gem for me to cherish. :) Thank you so much for the generous shower of praises. :) You make my soul happy! :)

And there can't be a better privilege for me than being in that short list of writers who touch your heart. What more can I ask for? And as you already know.. you have always been in that short list of brilliant writers of mine. :)

Rahul Sir.. I am speechless. I can't thank you enough for that wonderful compliment. I feel like I have taken that one best and perfect photograph every photographer dreams of taking. :) You have left my heart brimming with happiness. :)

I have read many stories in this contest but this one touched me too deeply. What twists and turns! It brought out the workings of destiny and fate and incredible meetings and partings. Mail me when you win the contest :)

Thank you so much Zephyr for the most heart warming compliment. Coming from you, it means so much. :) You have said it so well... the workings of fate and destiny are really fascinating. :) I am really overwhelmed by your wonderful praise. :)

whenever i visit this blog, i expect nothing less than a masterpiece!! and masterpiece it is. all the best for the contest!!!

incidentally, even i was writing a story on a train journey when i visited your blog although it's an entirely different story and the pace at which i write, i think, i will be able to finish it in one or two months :D

First, How did you come up with the idea? I mean this photo is sad and I have read few straight forward posts on it but coming up with this remarkably beautiful story. I mean this is awesome. You can write in the finest of language but with this story line you have proved your genius as a writer, yet again.

Truly marvelous! Teach me how to write stories, please:)

And I loved the way you wrote the conversation between the boy n girl, specially the way you incorporated the thought of writer, poet, photographer and painter.

Saru.. what can I say! It is such a pleasure to read your comment every single time and I expect and wait for it so eagerly. :) Thank you so much for those lovely compliments. Coming from you, it means so much. :) I am really humbled.

Saru.. you are one of the best writers I have seen. And your short stories are really wonderful too. I really am a fan of your short stories. There is nothing for me to teach you. :) But my only request would be that you should write more of those! :)

This is a Master Piece Raj.. Right from the start to the end its just perfect.. So beautifully you have weaved the story, only a genius can do it.. So many touching moments blended with so deep emotions in such a short story is splendid. No doubt you are the winner.. :) This is another post of yours where I got the goosebumps and teary eyes both at the same time.. The other post was your guest post in which you have written about your parents marriage story :) You are Brilliant Raj:) Keep up the good work:)

This post also made me remember Laxman about whom you must be knowing as you have read my post on him. Well, his Dad did not agree to give Laxman to my uncles friend :) After reading this post I feel that it was the best decision he has taken for his child:) Thank u Raj :)

What can I say Sonia! I am simply overwhelmed by this wonderful comment. You have made my heart swell with happiness by showering so many wonderful wonderful compliments. What else can a writer want? It means so much to me coming from a writer like you. Thank you so much. You have made my day!

Your writing is becoming more and more powerful...more deep, more thoughtful...turn of phrase is of no use unless the content is rich. This is a lovely uplifting story on a day when rains lash Bengaluru, my heart sinks in an empty space, and I remember...

Raj, how do you come up with such stories? There is a depth of emotion, longing and love in this sad story. What amazing twists and so much packed in such little space. You are a brilliant writer! You have outdone yourself, my friend, with this one.

breaktakingly beautiful! you just blew my mind away with this story! I had always thought ur story of the wedding prank ( i guess.. wedding bells) was ur best, but this is several notches higher! that story i must have read ,like ages ago, and it was still fresh in my mind, now i guess, this will be etched in my mind too! great work!

Ahh... thank you so much for the lovely lovely comments. I liked the wedding bells one too. :) Am so glad you liked that very much too. :) That this story will stay fresh in your mind for a long time is the best compliment I could ever dream of. :)

I don't know what else to say which others haven't already said. One of the best short stories I have ever read. You are a true genius in terms of story telling and this post just accentuates that point. I am truly at a loss of words.

Akshay... every comment of yours means so much to me. :) And it is something I eagerly await for every single time I write something. :) Thank you so much for making my day with this wonderful comment.

WOW.. I was reading your reply to my comment in the last post , where you said Sir ji any advice coming from me is good , NOW NOW , not true that one , you have me thinking now. and as others said blew my mind too

indeed a lovely story .. and i would like to say thanks for sharing this with all of us .. a picture does say a lot of words.. and those words make a story as you just did

This is brilliant story-telling; seemingly scattered pieces in the beginning but in the end seamlessly joined. I liked everything about the story: the expression, the intrigue, the pain, the ray of hope etc. The fact is that in the ultimate ananlysis we are all related to each other; though we don't realise it

This is your Masterpiece Raj. It is Brilliant. The Plot, The Characters, the connection, the emotions and how it all unfolds in front of them. How the Photo was significant for both the characters. The Father. Oh my god, I just loved this. This is one of the best posts I've ever come across. Just loved the way you have penned it all down, in a very engaging way. For a minute when I saw the photo and read the story, I felt I was going to break down any moment. So touched by the Story. God Bless you. Keep writing more :-)

Ashwini.. I am really humbled by your lovely lovely comment. Am so glad that you felt that this is one of my best. :) And what more can a writer ask for other than a tear in the reader's eyes. You made the writer in me feel proud and I am indebted to you for that.

I don't know what to write..I am short of words..never thought that it will take such a twist..very touchy and melancholic..thanks for visiting my blog from where I got to know about your blog..Thanks a lot..

I don't know who you are and have no reason to shower praise on you unnecessarily. Let me confess that while stumbling on indiblogger I found this and your story is so moving, I am in tears. The descriptions are so vivid, I can imagine the scene. As a wildlife photographer and filmmaker, I am often bowled over by the beauty unfolding before me.

Your story raises so many questions. Who is poor? A man who has less of money is more poor than a man having no joy, freedom and peace?

Sabyasachi... You have made my heart swell with happiness and pride. Your comment touched me so much. And your lovely compliment has made my day. How I wish one day I would publish a book. It is a dream alright. But some day... :)

If a wild life photographer and a filmmaker like you feels that the scene was vivid, then I couldnt have asked for more. :) Thanks once again.

My, my, my my! Raj! you are a master story teller. Great story! Amazingly crafted and beautifully written. That scene outside the train's window was so vivid. I feel like I saw that sunset myself (and also the mountains and trees and winding path that the train took). That end was least expected. Reading this was such a pleasure.

Ahh Divya.. Thank you so much for the generous praise. I can't say how delighted I am. Sometimes certain scenes (especially those involving nature) stay so fresh in our memory. I guess it was one such reproduction. :)

Goodness Raj, this is a masterpiece. What a story and how well it has been penned down! Every part was perfectly etched out-from the beautiful scenery to the lives of people involved in the story. Didn't see the twist coming. Lovely. A prize-winning entry! All the best.

I have been surfing online more than 3 hours these days, yet I by no means found any attention-grabbing article like yours. It is beautiful value enough for me. In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will probably be a lot more useful than ever before.